Mood - Mental Health Assessment
Have you ever noticed that you gamble to help cope with feeling down or anxious? Or perhaps it’s the other way around – you feel down or anxious after gambling? Knowing how your gambling and mental health may be linked can help you understand why gambling might be an issue for you and what kind of support you may need.
There is a strong link between gambling and mental health issues.
If someone has mental health issues, they’re more likely to have issues with gambling, and if someone has issues with their gambling, they’re more likely to have mental health issues. Most people who have both of these issues experience mental health difficulties first, but some people experience gambling difficulties first.
Even for people who don’t have mental health issues, mood and gambling can still be connected. Moods like sadness, anxiety, and stress can trigger gambling. It's also common for people to feel a mix of negative emotions after gambling, like anger, guilt, shame, self-doubt, and feelings of failure.
This means that gambling and mental health issues can create a cycle that is hard to break. People may gamble because they think it will make them feel better, but usually it doesn’t. Instead, they often end up losing money or experiencing other problems, which can make them feel worse. They may then gamble again to make themselves feel better, and the cycle repeats.
This online assessment can give you an indication of the severity of your psychological distress symptoms and help you determine whether you should consider seeing a counsellor.
There are 10 questions to complete before you are presented with an assessment of your level of current psychological distress and suggested actions you may consider taking.
The assessment is based on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale - 10 (K10) which has been used in several population studies in Australia and abroad.
Gambling Help Online provides such an self-assessment here.